Major League Soccer took down my video – this is how I got it back.

Last Sunday I woke up to a email that every YouTube creator dreads, "Copyrighted content has been detected in your video. As a result, your video has been blocked, and can no longer be played on YouTube."

I host a show called Lobbing Scorchers covering Major League Soccer and more specifically the Seattle Sounders with Ari Liljenwall and others over at Sounder at Heart. After every Sounders match we host a show streamed live, taking fan calls, showing the press conferences and giving our reactions.

MLS' Digital Rights Management system didn't like that we had streamed the press conference and flagged our video, claimed our revenue and removed the video from YouTube in all regions.

Frustrated and unsure what to do, I just posted about it:

After much public outcry and community support – thankfully – the claim was cleared off YouTube and the video went public again. Here is everything I learned from this experience including how MLS handles their rights and what to do when you run into this issue.

What went wrong?

From sources inside the league office I have been able to determine the following. MLS enacted a new rights enforcement policy in October of 2025 ahead of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The league hired a digital rights management company that would handle YouTube Content ID claims and other forms of DMCA takedowns.

This DRM company was told to block, “player interviews,” as they are exclusive to Apple TV and not supposed to be used without rights. MLS wants to give exclusivity of broadcast on-field and off-filed interviews and 1-on-1s as a part of their media rights deal to Apple TV. That makes sense!

The problem came when the DRM company interpreted that as including player and coach press conferences. MLS at a league level is okay press conferences being shared without restrictions.

The whole thing is a complete gray area for everyone involved. The league source shared the policy was vague, even share the policy leaves wiggle room for the use of on-field and off-filed interviews by outside media outlets. What isn't clear is the limit of how much of these interviews can be used/shown before the DRM company hits your channel with a strike.

I was assured was that this incident has prompted the powers that be to examine the digital rights policy closely to see what else could or should be amended. MLS wants press conferences to be shared by the media and is okay with redistribution.

How did the content get restored?

Honestly, the league rescinded their claim after it was brought to their attention. I don't think this would have normally happened without a community of people advocating publicly. Thats why I am building Soccer Creator Club! Sign up down below to the newsletter and get instant access to our Discord where we can hopefully use our resources to help each other out. Beyond that...

I decided not to counter the claim via YouTube because if the copyright holders and claimants, in this case MLS via the DRM company, deny your appeal you have the chance to get a channel strike. Those strikes can lead to demonetization and channel shutdown.

Personally I would also study up on fair use! Commentating and breaking down sports plays can be considered fair use under U.S. law, specifically for commentary, criticism, or educational purposes. However, it is not guaranteed and requires the content to be "transformative" by adding new value, using only small, necessary portions, and not replacing the original broadcast.

If you truly believe your content is fair use, go through the process of appeal on YouTube. Though I will caution you may not get the result you want. Navigating all of this needs an articles all on its own!

What content from MLS can you use?

Thats the question I am still trying to get a clear answer on. What I can tell you for sure is that MLS press conferences are fully fair game. I will update this section when they tell me more.

Can I stream MLS press conferences live?

From what I have gathered streaming press conferences is permitted by MLS. The streaming aspect of this had nothing to do with the strike. It was a DRM issue that is being resolved at the league level. Press conferences are often streamed live by TV, that shouldn't be any different for you as a creator or journalist. That said, streaming is never permitted in person from the locker rooms and it is always best practice to check with a club's PR officer to get clarity on what they prefer.

What is Digital Rights Management?

Digital Rights Management, or DRM, is how companies protect their copyrighted content online. It's a set of tools and rules that control who can use, share, or profit from videos, music, images, and other media.

For video creators, the most common form of DRM is Content ID; YouTube's automated system that scans every uploaded video and checks it against a database of registered content. If your video matches something in that database, the system can mute your audio, block your video, or hand your ad revenue to the rights holder. All of this happens automatically, with no human reviewing it first.

Sports leagues like MLS use these systems to protect their broadcast rights. If your video includes match footage, press conference clips, or even in-stadium audio, an automated claim can hit your video within minutes of uploading.

Here's the problem: these systems aren't perfect. They can't tell the difference between licensed use, fair use commentary, or a creator who got clearance from the league or team itself. The algorithm just sees a match and fires off a claim.

Disputing a claim is possible, but it puts the burden on the creator. You have to file a counter-notice, wait out a response window, and sometimes risk a full copyright strike which can lead to demonetization if the rights holder escalates.

Why is the claim coming from MLS?

Club owners don't own their team the way an NFL or NBA owner does. They own a share of MLS and a license to operate one of its clubs. The Sounders can't give away rights they don't actually hold.

So when a club staffer tells you you're good to use something, they're giving you permission they can't completely back up. MLS's automated Content ID system doesn't know or care what a local media coordinator told you. It sees its content in your video and files the claim.

This means getting approval at the club level means very little for your YouTube channel. The only permission that actually protects you is one that comes from MLS directly.

So while I had the go-ahead to stream and post the press conferences from the Seattle Sounders directly, we see what ended up happening. Clubs have some license to operate how they please with their content but at the end of the day Major League Soccer can chose to arbitrarily make decisions on content rights.

In closing

A genuine thank you to Major League Soccer for taking action on this. I think it can be easy to dismiss a league and paint them as uncaring and cold. I found it was quite the opposite. People working for MLS want the league and content creators to thrive. Sometimes it just takes messing up to open up new possibilities.

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